I always was reluctant to play a rogue-like game, especially with much of adventure style in it, but TLJH is really different, there is a central purpose in the game (returning to Earth) that you try to pursue in a captivating fashion. It's not a game that you start and eventually you reach the end in some big playing sequence, no. The game is sheer difficult and you will often die, after which you get in for a new procedurally generated round and you are even more eager to succeed. The good grafics and the outstanding design for the aliens and their quests will give you real motivation to go on, unaware of how many defeats you have taken. You will get better next time, although it will never play out the same way. If I had a free wish, I would say: Please make this same game in 3D with the player in FP mode! This would have a huge potential. Maybe as a TLJH 2. There are however some negative aspects in the game that I must mention. First, the game has a high price in relation to its gameplay features, but this will not influence my rating because I never discuss prices, one can wait for promotions etc. Really negative aspects include: - Other than the galaxy map, there is no possibility to zoom/unzoom the view in the system travel or during combat, making it a cumbersome limitation - There are no upgrades that enhance the speed and maneuvrability of your ship during combat, you remain essentially a sitting duck, the enemy ships are waaaay more powerful and faster than you. The combat departement lacks some good possibilities here that would make the game far more abordable by a lot of players. - No keyboard mapping possibility. The game plays with mouse/keyboard and gamepad but no custom settings are possible. - Although normal in rogue-like games, I miss a saving possibility into a slot or at least some training missions for landings that you can chose in the main menu. The gamemakers have included 3 tutorial videos (you need to be online to watch them on Youtube), but in-build training missions would be that much better IMO. Overall I recommend this game to sci-fi and space game fans, because so different from other games in the genre. All you do in the game has a clear defined purpose, it's not about stupidly shooting randomly withtout purpose against enemies, you cannot play it as a sandbox because your ressources are limited, you need to have good strategy and tactics to succeed which makes the entire game challenging. Good gameplay design!
